Monday, May 14, 2012

All Classes: May 14-18, 2012

Greetings Students!
The year is winding down, and we need to tie all the loose ends.

As you know, Seniors, this is your last official week. Don't forget to show up for all your exams, turn in your books and projects, and come to Awards Day this Wednesday.
Next week you will have a graduation line-up practice in the auditorium at 8:30. The picnic (for those of you who paid either separately or who paid your optional fees) will be at the big pavilion at Monte Sano Park on May 21 at 1:00. I'll be contacting a few of you to help set up.

Sophomores. Your research papers are due this week. For those in Pre AP, this paper doubles as your final, so doing a good job on it is extremely important. Every student's rough draft is due on either Monday (A schedule) or Tuesday (B schedule), and all final drafts are due on the next class day after the rough draft.  DO NOT forget!

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

English 10: May 7-11, 2012

Hello Sophomores!

Can you believe the year is almost over? We only meet one day this week because of Field Day activities, so let's make the most of that time.

I will be checking your note cards for your Career Paper. I expect you to bring a rough draft on Tuesday of next week. Bring a HARD COPY to class. I will not accept late rough drafts.

Your rough draft should be essentially complete, and you should only need to make the changes I show you in class before turning in your FINAL paper on Wednesday of next week. DO NOT FAIL TO COMPLETE this paper because it counts as TWO essay grades and will have a major effect on your average if you do not turn it in.

After checking note cards, I will meet with the last small group. The rest of the class will read the first few pages of Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher" and compile a list of all the details they can find about the appearance of the exterior of the house and grounds. This close reading activity will help you to understand some of the symbolism in this story.

After the small group, the entire class will read and discuss the "Fall of the House of Usher" as a large group. See you in class.

Mrs. SO

Monday, May 7, 2012

PreAPENGLISH 10: May 7-11, 2012

Greetings Young APEs!

The days are winding down...you can count the classes remaining on ONE hand.

That having been said, let me iterate and reiterate how important it is that all work due be turned in on time.  This week, your note cards are due. Next week, rough drafts and final drafts will be due.

We will also continue our study of Romanticism, Transcendentalism, and Anti-transcendentalism.

Be sure to read these two stories for comparison:

"The Oval Portrait"
"The Birthmark"

We will also read and excerpt from The Prairie, the first American novel, and discuss the symbolism of the final scene, and read Poe's "The Raven," and discuss sound devices and the effective use of meter.

Friday is Field Day!

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

Saturday, May 5, 2012

English 12: May 7-11, 2012

Hello Seniors!
Our time together is all but finished. I'll be sad to see you go.

Last Thursday, I had a family emergency and could not be at school. I asked you to view the video on Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I heard from a few of you that it left you confused, so we will be discussing the text in the few days remaining. But we also have another significant task. Your RESEARCH PAPER is due, and this paper counts not only for grades during the nine weeks, but also for your FINAL EXAM.

Since we did not get to do our peer editing on Thursday as planned, we will do it on MONDAY. There will be no excuses for not having a rough draft. This activity counts as a 100 point quiz grade.

Your FINAL draft is due MAY 8th at the beginning of class. I know this gives you only one day for revisions, but if your rough draft is nearly complete, that should be enough time to make minor changes.  DO NOT FAIL to turn in your papers! They will count 10% of your yearly grade as your exam and be included incrementally in your 9 weeks grade, so this assignment is no trivial matter.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

APENGLISH 12: May 7-11, 2012

Greetings APE's,

The time has come. My final advice to you is to look over your MWDS (and turn them in if you have not....my Moodle is still there), practice some MC questions, write a few thesis statements, and go into the exam with a good attitude. Do your best, and know that you are giving it your all. I wish you all the best of luck!

On Tuesday, we will review The Glass Menagerie in brief. I know several will be testing. On Wednesday evening, try to go to sleep early and get up and eat something rich in protein. Drink some water to hydrate your brain. Take a granola bar or some trail mix for an energy boost between sessions. Grab your pen and pencil and a watch. Make sure you watch the time and allot yourself approximately 40 minutes per essay. Don't spend more than 20 minutes on a MC passage if there are four of them or 15 minutes if there are five.
YOU CAN DO THIS!

I can't tell you how proud I am of all of you!

Good luck!

Mrs. SO

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

APENGLISH 12: April 30-May 4, 2012

Greetings APEs!

The year's end is upon us. We have much to do in the short time remaining.
On Tuesday we will have our class discussion of Heart of Darkness. Here are a few questions to consider:
1. The Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe has claimed that Heart of Darkness is an "offensive and deplorable book" that "set[s] Africa up as a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be manifest." Achebe says that Conrad does not provide enough of an outside frame of reference to enable the book to be read as ironic or critical of imperialism. Based on the evidence in the text, argue for or against Achebe's assertion.

2. As you read the novel, be aware of how Conrad uses repeated "doubling" patterns of opposition and contrast in Heart of Darkness: light and dark, white and black, "savagery" and "civilization," outer and inner? What does Conrad accomplish by this contrast, especially of light and dark?

3. Marlow constantly uses vague and often redundant phrases like "unspeakable secrets" and "inconceivable mystery." At other times, however, he is capable of powerful imagery and considerable eloquence. Why does Marlow use vague and "inconclusive" language so frequently?

4. Why does Heart of Darkness have two competing heroes? Make the case for either Marlow or Kurtz as the true "hero" of the book. How do you define "hero" for this book? Why doesn't Marlow kill Kurtz?

5. Think about the framing story that structures Heart of Darkness. Why is it important to narrate Marlow in the act of telling his story? Why is the framing narrator unnamed?

6. Interpret Kurtz's dying words ("The horror! The horror!"). What do they mean? What are the possible "horrors" to which he is referring? Why is Marlow the recipient of Kurtz's last words?

7. What do women represent in Heart of Darkness? There are three significant women in this story: Kurtz's Intended, Marlow's aunt, and the African woman at Kurtz's station. How are they described? Contrast Kurtz's African mistress with his Intended. Are both negative portrayals of women? Describe how each functions in the narrative. Does it make any difference in your interpretation to know that Conrad supported the women's suffrage movement? What does Marlow mean early in Part 1 when he suggests that women are "out of touch with truth" and live in a beautiful world of their own?

8. Describe the use of "darkness" both in the book's title and as a symbol throughout the text. What does darkness represent? Is its meaning constant or does it change?

9. How does physical illness relate to madness? How does one's environment relate to one's mental state in this book?

10. Why does Marlow lie to Kurtz's fiancée about Kurtz's last words? Why not tell her the truth, or tell her that Kurtz had no last words, rather than affirming her sentimental and mundane ideas?

11.
If you were, like Francis Ford Coppola (who shifted the setting to late 1960s Viet Nam in his 1979 film Apocalypse Now) to retell Heart of Darkness in another setting, where and when would you set it?

We will also  read and discuss the poem "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot and understand it's correlation to HoD.


Expect to write TWO essays on the novella on Wednesday. On Friday we will do a self-evaluation of the content of the essays written on Wednesday and begin reading The Glass Menagerie. 

See you in class!

Mrs. SO